John M. Parker

 1848-1868

Tampa Florida Peninsular, Jan. 16, 1869

DIED--At the residence of his father at Ft. Meade, Fla., December 28th, 1868, John M. Parker, aged 20 years and 8 months.

The subject of this memoir was familiarly known by his friends and comrades as Jack Parker. So young, inexperienced and unknown was our unassuming brother, that we have not much to record so far as concerns his relations to the public. We can only assert that his bland, courteous, polite manners, with his uncommonly benevolent disposition won for him the esteem and friendship of all who knew him, old and young. As far, however as concerns his immediate circle of relatives and friends we can say with reason that we deeply deplore our sad loss in the departure of our dear, lamented brother.

As a son he was exceedingly careful to obey his parents from his earliest youth; not so much either from a slavish fear of their correction and censure, as from an innate desire to cause them no pain by disobedience and neglect of duty towards them. It is characteristic of his parents to love their children with more than usual fondness, and accordingly no rash restraints are ever used by them in family government; and yet, even in the last act of our brother's life, in going to a Christmas frolic, in company with some associates he had time and again been warned of, he never went without carefully obtaining his father's consent.

As a brother Jack was kind, gentle, affectionate, with heart and hand ever open to do as good. But, alas! our brother is gone to the grave to awake no more till the resurrection morn. In this last act of our brother's life, of which we have just spoken, he was shot by one of his careless, heedless, comrades in a spirit of foolish fun. At first the injury was not regarded as serious, as there was supposed to be nothing but "wad" in the pistol with which he was shot, though in a dangerous place. The pain of the wound, however, together with its position in the superior and lower aspect of the thigh, involving perhaps the very origin of the Femoral vessels, due, and, perhaps too, nearly if not quite encroaching upon the large [?] artery, made it necessary to despatch for a physician in haste. All precautions and efforts then attainable were strenuously put forth by the Doctor and the friends of the deceased to relieve him, but in vain did they assay the task. On the 3d day, secondary hemorage ensued and our brother soon expired.

His aged parents, and one sister, and three brothers are left to deplore our sad loss; but we fondly trust that our loss is his eternal gain. May a kind providence who holds the destinies of his creatures in His own hands, and the balm of consolation as distilled from the precious promises of His Gospel, to the bereaved, [?] our sad affliction to our souls eternal good. And may the evidence expressed in his last hour, of his willingness to die, contribute to our comfort and seal our resignation to His divine will, who has never erred or made a promise he never has fulfilled. Finally, who can but admire that magnanimous spirit of our brother, who declared he could never die satisfied until he obtained the promise of his father never to hunt the destroyer of his life, and requested earnestly that his unfortunate friend should visit him during his illness. Oh! may the simple take warning.

j. [Jasper Newton Parker, his brother]

Gravestone at Homeland Florida
death year should read 1868